Has anything changed in ESL since Kozol's book was published?
"Long known for the low achievement of its schools and the rampant mismanagement of its businesss affairs, the 12,000-student Illinois district has posted some of the most dramatic gains of any system in the state on this year's standardized exams, according to preliminary data. Mr. Anderson reviewed that data recently before the school board. He said the district's biggest gain was in 8th grade writing, where the number of East St. Louis students who met or exceeded state standards rose 26 percentage points over last year. The state's average gain was 11 percentage points. But the city, which has for decades suffered from high poverty and a declining job base, has a long way to go. While the 8th grade mathematics scores shot up 25 percentage points, more than double the statewide improvement, they still were 20 percentage points behind the state average. Fifth grade writing scores rose by 12 percentage points, far above the 1-point increase for the state as a whole."
After viewing the listed facts above, it is easy to tell that the district of East St. Loius has been undergoing so major educational changes since the release of Kozol's Savage Inequalities. In his book, he says that "'Very little education in the school would be considered academic in the suburbs. Maybe 10 to 15 percent of student are in truly academic programs. Of the 55 percent who graduate, 20 percent may go to four-year colleges..." (Kozol 27) Just by seeing this percentages, it tells the reader that back in 1989, the education the students were given was not really education at all. When Kozol asked the Intro to Home Ec teacher what the class prepared them for, she said work at fast food places. After 11 years of work, the scores on the standardized testing are astounding. The students and teachers finally sound like they have an idea of what's going on. Even though some percentage scores are still under the state average, the district was able to work on those core areas and produce some great results.
Robert C. Johnston, “Test Scores in East St. Louis Raise Hopes of a Turnaround.,” Education Week 19, no. 40 (June 14, 2000): 7, doi:Article.
Has anything changed in ESL since Kozol's book was published?
"Long known for the low achievement of its schools and the rampant mismanagement of its businesss affairs, the 12,000-student Illinois district has posted some of the most dramatic gains of any system in the state on this year's standardized exams, according to preliminary data. Mr. Anderson reviewed that data recently before the school board. He said the district's biggest gain was in 8th grade writing, where the number of East St. Louis students who met or exceeded state standards rose 26 percentage points over last year. The state's average gain was 11 percentage points. But the city, which has for decades suffered from high poverty and a declining job base, has a long way to go. While the 8th grade mathematics scores shot up 25 percentage points, more than double the statewide improvement, they still were 20 percentage points behind the state average. Fifth grade writing scores rose by 12 percentage points, far above the 1-point increase for the state as a whole."
After viewing the listed facts above, it is easy to tell that the district of East St. Loius has been undergoing so major educational changes since the release of Kozol's Savage Inequalities. In his book, he says that "'Very little education in the school would be considered academic in the suburbs. Maybe 10 to 15 percent of student are in truly academic programs. Of the 55 percent who graduate, 20 percent may go to four-year colleges..." (Kozol 27) Just by seeing this percentages, it tells the reader that back in 1989, the education the students were given was not really education at all. When Kozol asked the Intro to Home Ec teacher what the class prepared them for, she said work at fast food places. After 11 years of work, the scores on the standardized testing are astounding. The students and teachers finally sound like they have an idea of what's going on. Even though some percentage scores are still under the state average, the district was able to work on those core areas and produce some great results.